The Rove-amped Republican Party

Most Republicans believe in limited government and in fiscal and social conservatism. Although I do not agree with them, I respect their choices. However, the current Republican administration does not seem to believe in any of this. Its sole concern is power. In its quest for more power, it expands government, throws away frugal policies and emphasizes only divisive faith-based initiatives. And if anyone disagrees with its actions, the administration ATTACKS, SMEARS AND DESTROYS him or her. All this is done under direction of Karl Rove, who has Rove-amped the Republican Party.

Bush and Rove have been a team for a long time. They work together like hand and glove. Rove takes care of political dirty tricks to get Bush elected, and Bush takes care of government policies to assure that both he and the Republicans stay in power.

From Lee Atwater, Karl Rove learned lots of dirty tricks. Unlike Atwater - at least until now - Rove has not confessed any of his sins. And he has plenty to confess. Here is only a small partial list:

He destroyed the reputation of Anne Richards through sex innuendos in order to get Bush elected governor of Texas

He smeared John McCain as unpatriotic in the primary elections in order for Bush to receive the Republican nomination

He smeared Al Gore, one of the most honest people in politics, as a liar in order to get George W. Bush elected president

He destroyed the reputation of John Kerry as a hero through the lies and smears perpetrated by the Swift Boat Veteran Liars

He attacked Richard Clarke, the security expert, who wrote a book criticizing the administration on its Iraq policy. He did the same when the secretary of the treasury quit.

Now we are reaching the culmination of what Rove may have done 2 years ago. Bush had made a statement in his State of the Union address claiming that Saddam Hussein had gotten unranium from Niger. This was part of Bush's push for war. Wilson went to Niger and then blasted Bush in an op-ed piece. Soon we heard Robert Novak, a Republican provocateur, announce to the world that Joe Wilson's wife was an agent with the CIA.

The press knows how Karl Rove operates:

ATTACK, SMEAR AND DESTROY.

At the time, 2 years ago, the newspapers speculated that Karl Rove and Lewis "Scooter" Libbey, Cheney's chief of staff, were behind the so-called leak.

Here was a situation where an undercover agent of the CIA was "outed" and the president did not seem to care. The leaker or leakers evidently committed a crime and Bush could easily have found out who did it. After all, how big is the White House? And Bush knows every person there.

So a special prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, was appointed. During the elections period, we heard absolutely nothing. Now, 2 years later, safely after the election, we get all this information about Rove and his dirty tricks.

What's the response of Rove?

ATTACK, SMEAR AND DESTROY.

He is not doing it himself. Mehlman, head of the Republican National Committee, a clone of Rove, is on the attack. Yesterday, on Meet the Press, Mehlman spit venom against Wilson, while claiming that Rove is innocent. He even had the gall of claiming that Rove is honest! He claimed that Democrats have no new ideas.

Democrats are not pushing a new idea but an old one: integrity. We want to get rid of Rove in order to remove corruption in public life. We want a government that the people trust. We want a government that works for the needs of all people, not only the rich that fill the coffers of power hungry men.

The Republican Party has been hijacked. It stands for nothing but power. It is now the Rove-amped Republican Party.